Art of stuffing leather



(No Model.)

B. P. BRADFORD.

ART OF STUFPING LEATHER. v

No. 547,985. Patented 001;. 15, 1895.

FEE--1 IE Z Wine 5 5,25

IFR/ET'TlID Y'; 772% /5 m, Q? MQ%%A Mrs frames BENJAMIN P. BRADFORD, OFWORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ART OF STUFFING LEATHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,985, dated October15, 1895.

Application filed March 2'7, 1895. Serial No.543,345. (N0 specimens.)

To all whom i2; may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN P. BRADFORD, of the city and county ofWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Art of Stuffing Leather; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure 1 represents aleather-heatingchamber provided with steam heating-pipes for heating said chamber tothe desired temperature and a small perforated pipe for discharging asmall amount of live steam into the chamber to keep the leathercontained therein of the proper degree of moisture,as will behereinafter more fully described; and Fig. 2 represents a revolvingstuffing wheel or drum, which may be of ordinary construction, forpermeating the leather by absorption with grease and other stuifingmaterials in theusual way.

My invention relates to the art or process of stuffing tanned leatherafter having been scoured, to render the same soft and pliable.

The object of said invention is to reduce the time requiredforreffecting said stuffing process over the old ways heretoforeemployed, While at the same time producing a superior grade of stock;and it consists in first heating the leather prior to being stuffed in aheating-chamber separate from the usual revolving stuffing-drum providedwith means for maintaining a certain degree of heat and moisture of thetemperature therein, and then while still hot placing said leather in anordinary heated revolving stuffing wheel or drum with the grease orother material used for stuffing, as and for the purpose hereinaftermore fully set forth.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay better understand the nature and purpose thereof, I.

will now proceed to describe it more in detail.

In the drawings, A represents the leatherheating chamber, and B thestuffing wheel or drum previously alluded to for carrying out myimproved art or process of treating the leather to soften and render thesame pliable.

Prior to my invention it has been custom ary, as is well known, to placethe leather to be treated while cold in the stuffing wheel or drum,which is provided with some kind of heating apparatus for maintainingthe desired heat therein. In this instance I have not shown said meansfor heating, as the special construction of the wheel or drumconstitutes no part of my present invention. By said old process ofstuffing it is obvious that considerable time is consumed in heating theleather after it is placed in the wheel or drum to the properconsistency to absorb the grease or other stuffing material, and beingcold when put in is stiff and unpliable and tends to adhere one piece toanother, thereby becoming heated unevenly. Consequently dark spots areproduced in the leather, and it is also caused to break up coarse instuffing, thus resulting in an unsatisfactory and inferior grade ofleather, having some places soft and pliable while others which were notequally as well acted upon are less pliable and uneven in texture in thefinished product.

By my improved process of first heating the leather prior to placingitin the stulfing-drum in the manner which will now be described the aboveobjections are wholly removed, and leather of a uniformly-even texture,pliability, and superior quality is produced, which result I have fullydemonstrated in the practical treatment of large quantities of leather.

The heating-chamber A for subjecting the leather to said prior heatingprocess is provided with a suitable number of steam-pipes a, arranged atthe bottom thereof, over which is preferably placed a sheet-iron orother metal floor to protect said pipes and also to prevent contact ofthe leather therewith. The pieces of leather 1) to be treated aresuspended vertically from suitable hooks o, fastened to bars d,supported from the ceiling of the heating-chamber, all as is fully shownin Fig. 1 of the drawings. The chamber is provided with a suitable door6 in one side thereof for the admission and removal of the leather to beheated. Said chamber is in practice designed to be as near air-tight aspossible, in order to retain the original moisture of the leather whenput ingbut as some of said moisture will be absorbed by the atmospherein the chamber when the leather is placed therein and more or less airwill enter at the joints around the door I provide means for supplyingthe slight amount of moisture required to maintain the original moistureof lheleather when put in or to add more moisture thereto, if required,by the use of a small steam-pipe f, arranged at or near the bottom ofthe chamher, which is provided with a series of small openings for thelive steam to escape through into the heating-chamber, as is alsoindicated in Fig.1;

By the abovedescribed method of heating the leather it will at once beapparent that every portion thereof will be uniformly heated and keptmoist. Therefore, when placed in said heated moist condition into theusual heated stuffing wheel or drum, the grease or other similarstufiing material at once commences to be absorbed thereby and everypart of the leather is quickly and uniformly permeated therewith.Consequently every portion of said leather is soft, pliable, free fromdark spots, also of an even texture and uniformly-superior quality,andowingtoits quick absorption of the stufling material, as aforesaid,isprevented from breaking up coarse in the stuffing process.

Having now described my invention, what I claim therein as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The process of stufiing leather which consists in first heating theleather to the required temperature, and then stutfing it in the usualway by heating it in presence of the required stuliing material,substantially as described.

2. The process of stalling leather which consists in first heating theleather to the required temperature and simultaneously moistening it,and then stuf'fing it in the usual way by heating it in presence of therequired stufling material, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN P. BRADFORD. Witnesses:

WALTER B. NoURsE, O. FORREST WEssoN.

